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54 Equipping the Local Church Grants Approved!

The Foundation for Evangelism approved grants to 54 local churches at its midyear board meeting in April. These grants allow churches and church-related organizations to launch an evangelism experiment or initiative. Two levels of grants are awarded, with churches and organizations having up to 99 participants receiving $5,000 and those with 100-250 participants, or multiple churches working together, receiving $10,000. Vice President for Grants, Rev Dr. Heather Lear, noted that, “Our grant reviewers had the hard job of selecting only 54 recipients from a pool of over 230 applicants! We were excited by the many great initiatives that will be launched in these churches' communities!” The Foundation will announce the recipients later in May.

Foundation-Supported Evangelism Course Prompts Student and Church to Shift Perspective

Shanelle Calvin Alli is a first-year DMin student at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and is co-leading a three-year-old church plant outside of Atlanta. On any given Sunday she gathers with a group of young entrepreneurs, seasoned professionals, singles and families, in a local modern brewery. Fermenting tanks and oak casks create a rustic backdrop to worship - evoking images of Jesus's first miracle turning water into wine.

As part of her DMin track, Shanelle ended up in the Evangelism for Non-Evangelists online course, a years-long partnership between the Foundation and Garrett. Led by Dr. Mark Teasdale, E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett, and Dr. Heather Lear (the Foundation for Evangelism’s VP for Grants), the experience has proven to be an invaluable tool for Shanelle and her congregation as they reach out to people in their community.

A Resource for Every "Non-Evangelist"

Evangelism isn’t just something a pastor, professional, or specially trained person does. In fact, the apostle Peter, talked about the “priesthood of all believers,” and the gospels show us plenty of everyday people who found themselves sharing the Good News of Jesus with their neighbors, friends, and sometimes even people they'd just met!

The Foundation for Evangelism has recommended Evangelism for Non-Evangelists to pastors, lay people, small groups, and even whole congregations, because it helps us examine our own faith story and beliefs, and helps us begin to see how Jesus' story can flow out of our own situation and context to help others see and experience God's goodness in their own lives.

Rev. Dr. Mark Teasdale, the author, is an E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. A six-week online course was also created with this book and is taught through a partnership with Garrett. Evangelism for Non-Evangelists is a practical guide for anyone or any group that wants to explore sharing the good news of Jesus with their neighbors in authentic, meaningful ways.

Three years ago as we were accepting our first Equipping the Local Church Grant applications, we realized many churches wanted to make a difference in their communities but didn’t know where to start. We saw that churches needed help with finding the unique ways their church was equipped to share the gospel with their neighbors and friends, so we designed a cohort program to meet that need - The Thriving Congregations Local Church Cohorts. We'll be sharing more information in next month's newsletter about applying to be part of a cohort this fall.

Your gift to The Foundation for Evangelism helps support a local church cohort, so that communities can grow stronger together through the Holy Spirit. Your gifts will help support churches, leaders, and laity that are showing up to share the gospel message with their neighbors and embody the difference Christ has made in their lives!

If you'd liked to help us continue funding grants and resources for evangelism, consider giving monthly (just click the link below and select "Monthly").